Chapter 8 · The Badge and the Cage

The door buckled inward.

A white arc of electricity crawled across the metal, followed by the heavy thud of something cutting through the lock. Dust sifted from the ceiling. The underground chamber smelled of wet concrete, hot wiring, and the sharp copper tang of Eve’s own blood.

She had one hand twisted into Cain Rook’s coat.

Her fingers found the hard shape beneath the torn lining.

The badge.

Cain caught her wrist before she could pull it free. His grip was weaker than it should have been. The electric shock from the last corridor had left his fingers trembling, but the tremor did not stop him from pinning her hand against his chest.

“Don’t,” he said.

Outside, a voice amplified through the door. “Cain Rook! Step away from the asset and surrender the black box. By order of the Consortium Security Authority, all unauthorized personnel will be terminated.”

Nora glanced at the ceiling monitor. Its cracked screen flickered between static and a city map. Somewhere above them, the broadcast she had unleashed was still moving through the dead network—